Modern residential living often includes utilization of the outdoor area surrounding homes and other residential structures. Expansive lawns, patios and decks remain highly desirable features of a modern home. Associated with these outdoor living spaces are a wide variety of outdoor furnishings, including, for example, chairs, tables and cooking stations, such as barbecue grills, which are specifically designed and engineered for outdoor use and storage.
While these furnishings are capable of being stored outside throughout the year, in many climates, utilization of the outdoor space is undesirable in the winter months, and even when the climate is conducive to outdoor activities and utilization of these types of furnishings, it is often desirable to protect such outdoor furnishings from the elements when the furnishings are not in use.
It is well known to provide protective covers for such furnishings. Such covers may be made of fabric, such as canvas, or more modern fabric, such as polyurethane. By treating these fabrics, they may be made impervious to moisture and ultraviolet radiation, thereby providing substantial protection to the items therein enclosed. Typically, such coverings are made of a size and shape to approximately conform to the exterior dimensions of the object being protected, and such coverings are also typically lightweight and flexible, allowing them to be easily removed, stored, and later reinstalled as needed without undue effort.
A major drawback to such coverings, however, is their appearance. Typically, such coverings are monochromatic. Neutral colors, such as white or tan, are frequently selected, because of the tendency of fabric dyes to fade over time, a tendency which is less pronounced in fabrics with little or no dye.
Another drawback to many of the materials utilized is their tendency to attract and hold airborne contaminants, such as dirt, which tend, over time, to become deposited on and absorbed into the fibers of the fabric. To minimize this difficulty, some outdoor protective covers are provided with a smooth coating to seal the fabric. However, such coatings tend to be highly reflective, and the shiny appearance of the covers so manufactured is often esthetically displeasing.
Because of their monochromatic appearance and their shape when installed over the furnishings to be protected, existing covers present a somewhat stark and desolate appearance to the outdoor environment, and call attention to the presence of a scattered collection of objects which is readily contrasted against the natural outdoor environment. Although fabrics and covers with drawings or other facsimiles of simulated foliage are known, existing patterns are designed for hunter camouflage, and are designed to deceive the animal, as opposed to the human eye. Typical of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,993, which depicts a simplified camouflage pattern first surface of material, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,900, which likewise provides an article having a surface pattern adapted to blend into a leafy environment. It is also known to create camouflage patterns from photographic images, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,290, which teaches the selection and organization of pattern elements on camouflage material in the pattern and ecotone motif of a selected outdoor environment. However, none of the prior art devices are designed to simulate the appearance of a plant, such as an outdoor tree or shrub. Further, none of the prior art devices addresses the problems of reflectivity herein described.
It is desirable, therefore, to create an outdoor furnishing covering which more readily blends into the surrounding environment, and presents a more pleasing appearance to the eyes, while at the same time providing the advantages of the prior art, specifically, protection from the elements, portability, lightweight, and resistance to the accumulation of contaminants, as well as resistance to discoloration over time. The present invention accomplishes each of these goals.